Girls Soccer Coach of the Year: Harry Canellakis, McDonogh

Girls Soccer Coach of the Year: Harry Canellakis, McDonogh

Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun

Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun

Glenn Graham, The Baltimore Sun

Harry Canellakis

McDonogh

After leading the Eagles to their first interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship and the area's No. 1 ranking in 2010, the third-year coach maintained the team's excellence with a second straight title this fall.

McDonogh opened the season at No. 1 and stayed there despite playing the area's most challenging schedule. In going 18-3, it went 10-0 in the area's most demanding conference, outscoring league opponents by a 43-2 margin.

Canellakis said a big key was a difficult early-season schedule that helped the Eagles avoid complacency. Included was a 2-0 win over New Jersey's Lenape, which came into the game as ESPNHS' No. 1 team in the country.

"The goals we set were more about playing our brand of soccer — staying organized and playing a possession game — and with that came the positive results," Canellakis said. After spending five seasons coaching at Culver Academy in Indiana, he is 46-6-3 at McDonogh.